Waking Nightmares
by LittleFluffy
Summary: Hayley, Noah, and Fern are three somewhat dysfunctional (demigod) friends. An evil invades the camp, threatening their lives, their camp, and their friendship.
1. Chapter 1

I brushed the strand of hair left from my ponytail out of my eyes and focused on the sheet on math in front of me. A few seconds later I had completed nothing and was feverishly tapping the desk while looking around the room. Ms. Wattson came up from behind, "Hayley, what is going on?"

"Uh, I was just finishing my work", I scrambled

"More like starting it," she said tilting her head, studying me,"I know you have ADHD Hayley, your mother told me. I also know that you can do better. I never treat students _like_ _you_ any different than other the students, show me that you can handle that."

"Ye-yes," I stamered

"By the way, she continued, I have a couple of other students who you might find it..._benificial _to work with."

Nuh-uh, no sir, that wasn't happening, I was always alone, Hayley the lone wolf people would say, people who I didn't need. It was always easier to shut them out. If they saw your weaknesses they might betray you, and with them knowing your flaws where would you be? Dead. If I learned one thing from Luke it was that. I knew I should trust my instincts. I promise never again. Not after Anna-Marie.

But what could I say to a teacher? Especialy one who hadn't put me in Special Ed with kids who couldn't spell their own name. All the others had given up. _There's no helpn' that Hayley, she will never learn._

"Yes ."

I picked up my book and slowly walked over to the two other kids sitting in the corner. _Whats wrong with them? Wheelchair? No. _Must be something in their head. Like me. Both were sporting glasses. _join the club. _And both were doing something other than working.

That's how I met them. Fern and Noah. I broke my promise.


	2. Chapter 2

As I sat down next to them, the girl gave me a toothy grin. She had shoulder legnth dark red hair and intense dark eyes. Still she wore that goofy grin while staring intently at her sheet of math - that was covered in doodles.

The boy had curly-ish brown hair and hazel eye, he didn't even acknowledge me sitting near him. He just looked out the window.

The girl still hadn't spoken a word. I waited for her to say something. _Maybe she was couldn't speak?_

_No._ She spoke as if to answer my thought although later I realized it was because was on the other side of the room,"My name is Fern!" she spoke with a slight british accent but her tone was so bubbly you would miss it if you were only half listening. I wasn't.

Though "Fern" kept jabbering on about something I didn't care about. The boy spoke,"name's Noah. I suppose sent you to be partners with the _weird _kids? I requested someone, can't get anything done with _her."_

"No, she did send me over, but not to be with the weird kids, to be with the normal ones," my voice remained cool and I propped my feet up on the desk.

He arched an eyebrow,"Normal, eh, I never thought I'd be trying to prove weirdness."

"Not weirdness, superior dysfunctionality," I grinned. _No, no more friends..._

"You're on!"

"ADHD."

"Same."

"OCD."

"Dyslexia."

He grinned, it was a faint grin but there,"Looks like a tie."

Fern started listing all possible disorders.

"What's with her,"I asked gestering to Fern.

"Dunno, she can be a good friend sometimes though."

I shrugged. It was good to open up for a while, but I couldn't for long. _Remember your promise. Remember Anna-Marie._


	3. Chapter 3

It was the light at the end of the dark tunnel. When you're in the dark, and just when you think it's hopeless, the escape from the sorrow. That's what it was. My escape. My escape from reality into magic and things I wish could happen.

That's what reading was. That's what Percy Jackson was.

I never liked reading before that. It drew me in. It was magic, the book and my transformation. When I though everything was pointless it showed me joy.

Noah told me it was the only series he had ever read. With his dyslexia each sentence was a struggle. He painstakingly read them. Said they drew him in, same way they did to me. Through some prying I found out Fern loved them too. That was the only time she was quiet, when she was reading. In a way Percy Jackson is what really brought us together.


	4. Chapter 4

_two years later..._

With out even realizing it, I was nervously chewing on my hair. Noah pointed it out.

"Are you nervous to fly Hales?"He asked.

I nodded sheepishly. Zeus. I know I based things off PJO too much, but flying in enemy territory sent a slight twinge in my stomach.

"You know your not an enemy of Zeus, you've never even met him," Fern pointed out, not mentioning that Zeus was probably just an imaginary god invented by Greeks to explain lightning and there was nothing to worry about.

Four tedious hours I sat on that airplane headed for New Jersey. Let me explain a little.

I had failed in school again. Mrs. Peterson told my parents it would be good to send me away for the summer. Far away. Suddenly it crossed their minds that my father had a older stepbrother who lived in Jersey. Apparently, my dad had never known him that well because before their parents even met he was in college. I agreed to go. Why? Because it was New Jersey! For the gods sakes it is where Camp Halfblood is! How could I say no? Of course I made one thing clear, Fern and Noah HAD to come. My parents were glad I had friends so they quickly agreed, I cringed at the thought. _Hayley finally has friends! _

That's what happened. That's how I ended up on a plane sitting across from a old man and a wailing baby.


	5. Chapter 5

The air was heavy and humid when we got out of the cab. After spending all that time in the airplane the cab ride had seemed like forever. I looked up the winding dirt path that led up the hill to the old farmhouse.

"Looks old," stated Fern matter-of-factly.

I replied,"Way to state the obvious Fern, it looks haunted."

Over to the side of the hill across a small plain of dead grass stood a forest. Now that's where we would spend our time.

A tall old man came out of the house and started making down the path. I met him halfway.

"You must be Hayley, I'm Joseph Darlsberg, but of course, you can call me Uncle Joe, he said warmly, and you must be Hayley's friends, Fern and Noah."

"Yes sir,"Deven replied.

"Glad to meet you," said the older man, and he smiled.

_At Dinner..._

Aunt Martha was a stout old woman. Just as you might expect from the house. I could imagine them being in that famous painting of the farmers, what was it, oh yah, American Gothic. She made up a delicious homemade dinner. Chicken, mashed potatoes, string beans, and a pitcher full of gravy. Fern was a little worried though, she was a vegetarian. In the end she politely ate mashed potatoes for dinner. We laughed about it in our room.

We all insisted in sleeping in sleeping bags right next to each other, as though we were eight. I shuddered in nostalgia. Were had the time went? Meanwhile Noah was still reading books for fifth graders and Fern doodled on her tests. What's going to happen to us? Fern could get into collage for art. She drew amazingly. Noah had told me he spoke Spanish. Like that helped much.

I struggled in my mind for what seemed like forever, but eventually fell asleep.


	6. Chapter 6

I woke in the morning to the smell of blueberry pancakes. Fern was downstairs already and Noah was snoring rather loudly. Last night's worries forgotten, I rushed down the stairs and gobbled up some pancakes.

Uncle Joe brought me blindfolded to the rusty old barn.

"Where are you taking me?" I asked.

"You'll see," he replied, I could imagine the glint in his eye.

When he took the blindfold off I saw, in the middle of the barn, a brand new bike.

"Is this for me!?" I asked, hardly suppressing the excitement in my voice.

Uncle Joe rubbed the back of his head shyly,"We've missed a couple of birthdays.."

_More like 14. _I hugged him and said thank you.

"We figured you and your friends would want to ride around a bit, they can use our bikes, we're too old for them now."

Fern and Noah came then, and Joe left; he knew when not to bother kids, to bad he never had any. Deven and Noah admired my bike and we fooled around in the barn a bit. Then came a lunch of grilled cheese, an option even Fern could enjoy.

Never in a million years could I guess what happened next.


	7. Chapter 7

Aunt Martha was in the kitchen preparing dinner. She seemed to always be in the kitchen. She saw it first. Of course to her it looked different.

"Oh my lord! Joe, Joe, come here quick! There's a _bull_ charging right toward the house!"

Noah poked his head around the corner from the living room where we were player poker - for chocolate. His mouth dropped. His mouth never drops. He never crys. He never smiles either. But his mouth dropped; almost like a cartoon.

"Hayles...Haley, Hayley, HAYLEY, come here now!"

I came, but of course Fern had to look too. Charging at full speed toward the house was a huge bull - at least that's what it looked like at first, and what it looked like to normal people. But what Noah, Fern, and I saw at exactly the same time, was like a bull, but waaaay different. It was a minotaur.

And then it was here. The sliding glass door shattered and we all jumped behind the couch. We huddled there like shivering balls because we knew it was here for us, just like we knew what it was when our Aunt didn't. The reason for our obsession and longing. We were demigods...or at least all three of us had the sight. Demigods made more sense.

I knew what I had to do. I grabbed a piece of broken glass and gave a determined glance at Fern and Noah, who had come to the same realization, and they followed my actions. We had to take it out. Together.

The next two moments were like hell. Creeping around the house, not knowing where the monster would spring out of. At the end of the hall we heard a stamping. The minotaur was in our bedroom. _Attracted to our scent probably._

Even though it was off topic I realized there was a 50% chance Uncle Joe wasn't related to me. _Hey that's ADHD for you!_

Next thing I knew the minotaur was charging at me. Noah pulled me out of the way, but it wasn't necessary. A shining sword hit that minotaur and it turned into dust. I turned around, ready to see an even greater enemy.

What I did see shocked me.


	8. Chapter 8

Uncle Joe was behind me, clad in full greek armor and wielding a magnificent sword. A sword that had killed the minotaur. He was a son of Hephaestus.

"Are we really are demigods?" I asked.

"All three of you are, it's remarkable that you found each other! The chances are extremely slim!" He exclaimed.

Fern smiled,"Are we going to Camp Halfblood?!"

Joe grinned back,"Why not, let's see who your parents are!"

On the way my uncle gave us the scoop. The war with Gaea was over and a time of peace had befallen Camp Halfblood _and _Camp Jupiter. I warned Joe not to spoil the next Percy Jackson book.

"One of you could easily be a roman demigod too," Uncle Joe mused.

The trip wasn't long, I hadn't realized where we were going, but I saw we were in the same forest I had noted on our first day at the farm. We came to a beautiful pine.

"So this is Thalia's pine?" Deven said in awe.

I stared up at the tree,"I can't believe its all true."

This time it was Fern who spoke, strangely serious,"In a way, you knew it all along." _I swear that girl could be so smart._

A man in a wheelchair approached. I squinted at the blurry image and it faded tranforming into...I held my breath. _It was Chiron._

He was the thousands of images in my imagination rolled into one, slightly different person who was exactly and not all what I was thinking. I saw my friends with the same starstruck expression I had. His smile was warm and I smiled unitentionaly.

The weight of what had happed hit me like a blow to the gut. Demigods! demigods... _demigods?_.

I think I fainted.


	9. Chapter 9

I woke up expecting to see the astrological chart I had tapped on my midnight blue ceiling. I thought the past week's events had been some sort of realistic dream. Instead I woke to Fern staring right at me with a huge smile on her face.

"Hayley, we are going to be claimed!"

I quickly jumped up and me and Fern rushed onto the stage of the big amphitheater. _What a way to be woken up. _My stomach tingled with anticipation. One fact to decide my fate. Noah walked beside me and put his hand on my shoulder. I blushed, _was he trying to protect me? Don't ever think about that!_

Chiron cleared his throat. Wow. I still couldn't believe it. It all happened way to fast. A golden symbol appeared above Noah's head. An owl. Athena.

My heart skipped a beat. Athena's cabin cheered. Fern's came. Hecate? My pulse rushed now. I could hear the sound of my heart thumping. I was next. I squeezed my eyes shut and clenched my fists. I couldn't think of what to wish for.

_Just hope for the best. _Before I knew it people were clapping. I opened my eyes hesitantly and blinked twice...three times. Why was a bunch of gorgeous girls clapping? Why was Aphrodite cabin clapping? To welcome the new demigod who WASN'T in their cabin.

Nope, the truth was unavoidable. I was a child of Aphrodite. _Why me? _Then I fainted...again.

* * *

_In Olympus.._

A stunning woman with a movie-star aura and a pale skinned man with dark hair, stood in a marble hallway.

"What did you just do!" the man hissed.

"I claimed my daughter! I couldn't have her boarding with those pigs of Herme's!" she squealed.

"What about the plan! We discussed it 10 times!"

"We couldn't just not claim her! What about what we granted Percy!"

The man sighed,"She is not ready for the truth; for now we must let her think she is your daughter. It is for the best."


	10. Chapter 10

**Hey people! Little Fluffy here. I realized I haven't written anything to you guys while I was writing this book!**

**If you are reading this thank you so much for reading! I love your support.**

**If I am to drop book I will tell you, but that probably won't happen.**

**Really short chapters, but I just don't want to keep you waiting for an update. I promise I will update if you give my some time!**

**If you want to show you like this book please review! I want to hear your suggestions. I am not begging, but it is a confidence booster.**

**Thank You!**


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